A group of engineering students from Denver South High School will see the fruits of their labor as a year-long project comes to life. They are preparing to take their modified, solar-powered bicycle on their primary school trip.
The solar bike – also known as the “Solar Quest Lancer” – is a fully electric bike loaded with solar energy and custom batteries. It also has a body built around it and the driver.
“It’s exciting to see it really come to life,” said Jack Dawnson, a senior at South High. He and his classmates have been working on the bike for the past two years.
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“I’ve never done anything electrical in my life, so it was an experience for me to learn how to put batteries together, to learn how to use solar charging, and generally just do the work,” he said.
The project is part of the Makerspace South High School – an organization where students’ ideas can become inventions.
Zach Marchetti is the chief technology officer and sponsor of Makerspace.
“They all come together and become a big community project,” Marchetti said. He says the Solar Quest Lancer has seen its fair share of challenges. “We had to build the body in three separate pieces to be able to move up and down the school stairs.”
Now the Solar Quest Lancer is ready to be put to the test.
“We wanted to see if we could make a car that could go from here to the Kansas border on solar power,” says Marchetti.
The trip will take nine hours to travel 180 kilometers, only about 30 kilometers per hour. It is an example of a journey that is not about the destination – but about the journey.
“I feel pretty excited. A little skeptical in a way,” Dawnson said. “It’s going to be a long journey. It’s going to be fun.”
I plan to make the trip in the next few weeks, after sorting out the logistics with insurance, road and maintenance.
